You may not realise it but the resolution of an image is vital to the overall quality of the finished photograph. When you look at a picture on a computer screen, you’ll notice very little difference to the quality of an image that’s as low as 72 dpi when compared to an image that’s 300 dpi.

So why does it matter when they’re printed?

Dpi stands for ‘dots per inch’ and represents the number of individual dots per inch within the picture. 72 dpi is very low quality, but is as high as the Internet will work on, so when you’re looking at pictures on websites you’re merely looking at images that are 72 dpi. They look fine on the web, but if you were to print them they’d look awful.

Instead for the printed media you’ll require a minimum resolution of 300 dpi. When you’re looking to buy images from professional photography websites, you’ll tend to find that the higher quality the images, the more expensive they are to buy.

The important thing to remember is that you can easily reduce a higher quality image, but you can’t increase the quality of a low-resolution image. Therefore if you’re looking to print a photograph, particularly for a canvas print, you’ll want to use an image that is as high a resolution as possible, with a minimum of 300 dpi.

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Photography is one of the most popular hobbies around the world, largely because it’s cheap, fun, can produce great results and anyone from children to pensioners can do it. While it may be fun, and you don’t need any experience or training to take pictures, if you follow a few simple tips you’ll be able to take better photos and produce pictures that will stay with you for a lifetime; pictures that you can show your friends and family, and will even make great canvas prints.

Firstly, and perhaps the most important thing to remember, is to always carry your camera with you and have it ready to take pictures. There’s nothing worse than seeing something and saying ‘I wish I had a camera’. Those are the moments that you regret later, and if you always carry your camera with you, you can be sure not to miss those once in a lifetime pictures.

Secondly, when you’re taking photos you should always take more than one. In today’s world with digital cameras taking several shots at once is easy, and of course doesn’t cost you any more. Professional photographers always take several shots at the same time to make sure they catch the perfect moment, when the pose of their subject is just right, when they’re looking in the right place, when everything comes together.

If you just take the one picture, you could check it afterwards and realise that the perfect picture you thought you had wasn’t quite so perfect.

Finally, make sure when you take your photo that the natural light, such as the sun, is in the right place. Having the sun full on in front of your subject will bleach the colour. By the same token, having the sun behind your subject will create backlight and silhouettes. Try to position the sun so that it is to the side of your subject to emphasise the details and the tones.

Follow these tips and you’re sure to create photographs to be proud of.

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Taking photos outdoors is a great way to utilise natural light and inject some energy into your pictures, but what is the best light for pictures?

As the British summer is now underway people will be heading outside with their camera and snapping away, hoping to get those perfect summer moments captured on film. Unfortunately the summer, and the strong sunlight that it brings, isn’t always the best light in which to take photos.

In fact, strong sunlight is one of the worst natural light scenarios in which to take pictures as it can wash out the colour from pictures and interfere with the lens on your camera.

Using the shade or an overcast day makes for much better pictures. If you live in the UK that’s great news then! With the softer light that an overcast day brings you’ll get far better colour and skin tones on your subjects.

You can even use a flash to highlight parts of your subject’s skin. Using the flash on a low setting outdoors is a trick of the professionals and adds great depth and character to photographs, creating ‘catch lights’ in eyes and adding life to the pictures.

If you are using the sun for your light source, try not pose your subject with the sun directly behind them, or in front of them. Having the sun as backlight with create too much light for the background and cause your subject to be too dark. By the same notion, having the light directly in your subject’s face will cause them to squint, which in turn creates wrinkles in the face.

Instead pose your subjects so that the sun is to the side of them, lighting them subtly.

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Photos of children look great printed on canvas; they’re the ideal subject matter. Babies especially make for great subjects with canvas prints, but it’s not always easy taking great photos of babies. Whenever you try to take photos of children they’re always willing to pose, as after all kids love having their picture taken.

Babies on the other hand have a very short attention span. Getting a baby to pose is very difficult and can be an exercise in frustration. All too often you’ll have the perfect pose from them when you don’t have your camera, one which they refuse to repeat when you’re ready.

Getting really good pictures of your baby can be difficult. The best option is to try keep it very light and to avoid trying to force a pose. If you can catch your baby when they’re unawares you’ll get a much better photograph. Try keeping your camera with you all of the time and catch your baby when they’re engrossed in normal, everyday activities; such as playing, feeding or being changed. This will allow you to capture the nature of your baby, rather than a forced pose.

You can then grab the attention of your baby by waving something colourful at them, such as a teddy bear. When a baby is naturally curious they make the most endearing expressions.

One thing you should is take numerous pictures at once, preferably with a digital camera. The worst thing is thinking you’ve got the right pose and composition only to find the baby blinked in the best photo.

If you keep the whole process as much fun as possible, you’ll be sure to take a great photo of your baby which will look great a canvas print.

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It may seem an obvious question, but do you actually consider whether you’re taking a photo in landscape or portrait? Landscape means to have the photo horizontal, so it’s wider than it is tall, whereas portrait means to hold the camera vertically, to have the photograph taller than it is wide.

Choosing either landscape or portrait for your photographs shouldn’t be some arbitrary decision, it should be something you decide on very carefully, as something so simple can make a huge difference in the outcome of your pictures.

Choosing which ratio to take your photographs in also helps you decide the distance between yourself, the camera and your subject.

When lining up your subject for a photo, see if you can frame your subject in portrait (vertical). If you are able to compose the photo in this way and manage to frame your subjects, you should take the photo in this way. It’s always best to compose photographs of people in portrait if it’s at all possible.

Generally, if you have just one person, or a couple, in your photograph you should be aiming to take your pictures in portrait. If however you have more people, such as a group shot, then a landscape framing would be preferable.

Sometimes of course you’ll want to deviate from the norm, for example if you’re taking a photo of a single person with an expansive backdrop. In this instance you may want to compose the photo in landscape to make the best use of the background.

Finally you should always consider moving yourself and your camera closer to your subject before moving your subject. The closer you can get the better your photos will be, because after all it’s the detail of the subject that makes for a great photo.

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One of the most common problems with taking photos is avoiding red eye. The glare from your flash rebounds on the pupils of the people in your photos, ruining the look. Unless you’re a dab hand at PhotoShop or have a red eye correcting facility on your camera, there’s nothing you can do to get rid of it. Such a shame when you think you’ve just taken a really great photo that would look amazing as a canvas print.

However there are a few things you could do avoid red eye in the first place. It’s not that difficult to make sure you never get it.

Light from your flash reflects on your subject’s eye and gets rebounded into the lens of your camera, causing the awful red blur in their eyes. The problem is caused because the light gets reflected in a straight line, therefore simply breaking the straight line will be enough to avoid red eye. You could ensure that your subject’s eye level is different to your own by photographing them from above or below. This will avoid red eye as the light won’t bounce back into the lens.

Alternatively your subject can look slightly off from the camera rather than staring directly into the lens, the light again will not bounce back, causing the red eye.

If you have an external flash on your camera avoiding it is even easier still. You can move your flash so that it is to the side of the camera, meaning there is not straight line between the flash and camera, and the subject.

All of these suggestions will help you to avoid red eye in your photographs, meaning you’ll take better pictures that would be great framed, enlarged or even as canvas prints.

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